Anthony engineers Knicks’ comeback win over Timberwolves

Carmelo Anthony brought the Knicks back in
the fourth and Tyson Chandler protected the lead late to lift New York to a
100-94 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.

Anthony scored 12 of his 36 points in the final 6 1/2 minutes to help the
Knicks rally from an 11-point fourth quarter deficit. Chandler then made two
key blocks in the last 30 seconds to defend the advantage and give New York
its fourth straight win over Minnesota.

J.R. Smith followed with 15 points and Raymond Felton, Amare Stoudemire and
Steve Novak each contributed 11 in the Knicks’ sixth victory in seven games.

Luke Ridnour poured in 20 points and Ricky Rubio had a third consecutive game
with double-digit assists, posting 11 to go with 18 points, but the
Timberwolves inevitably fell for the ninth time in 10 tries.

Had it not been for Chandler, Anthony’s strong fourth quarter may have went
for naught when he air-balled a long triple with the Knicks up by one with
33.1 seconds left.

But when Ridnour went to basket on the ensuing possession to try and put the
Timberwolves ahead, he was rejected by Chandler. His swat then sparked a fast
break opportunity for Smith, who drew a three-point play after taking a foul
on his made layup.

With the Knicks up 98-94, Chandler then made the game-clinching block on
Rubio’s layup attempt to seal the win.

When Minnesota took an 87-76 lead with 7:16 remaining, Anthony became a
problem the Wolves could not handle, as he went on to score 10 of the Knicks’
next 12 points following a triple from Smith, with his running hook putting
New York ahead 91-90.

“We dug a hole, but we just kept fighting,” Knicks head coach Mike Woodson
said. “Down the stretch our defense kicked in and we made the plays necessary
to secure a win.”

Despite trailing at the break, 52-45, the Wolves rallied late in the third
to grab the advantage.

They scored 10 straight points, starting with Ridnour’s running jumper with
2:36 left in the session and ending with Williams’ emphatic two-handed jam
after stealing the ball from Felton in the early moments of the fourth.

Williams then scored the next three field goals for Minnesota, with his 17-
footer putting the Wolves ahead by 11 points.

Game Notes

Chandler also finished with five points and seven rebounds … Minnesota’s
Andrei Kirilenko missed his second consecutive game with a strained right
quadriceps … The Timberwolves shot just 1-for-13 from 3-point range, while
New York made 8-for-26 from long distance … There were 18 lead changes and
nine ties during the contest.

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